US News & World Report Names Morocco among 50 Best Countries

Kingdom Shines in Business and Cultural Sub-Categories

March 10, 2017 05:55 PM Eastern Daylight Time

WASHINGTON--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--For the second year in a row Morocco was ranked among the top 50 best
countries by US News & World Report’s Best
Countries listing, released earlier this week. Produced in
partnership with Y&R's BAV Consulting group and the Wharton School of
Pennsylvania, the listing evaluates 80 countries based on a survey of
more than 21,000 respondents worldwide in nine sub-categories:
Adventure, Citizenship, Cultural Influence, Entrepreneurship, Heritage,
Movers, Open for Business, Power, and Quality of Life.

Of the remaining nine sub-categories, Morocco also placed in the top 50
in the categories of Open
for Business (“market-oriented” countries that are “a haven for
capitalists and corporations”), ranking 40th; and Cultural
Influence (countries that serve as “cutting-edge centers of art,
entertainment and fashion”), ranking 41st.

In many categories, Morocco emerged as a leader in Africa and the Middle
East. Morocco was number one in the Open for Business and Best Countries
for a Comfortable Retirement categories among African and Middle Eastern
countries; number one in North Africa for Forward-Looking Countries; and
second in Africa in the Movers category.

“Morocco’s overall success and its exemplary performance in business and
cultural sub-categories are a testament to the country’s strengths and
vision for itself as a diverse, modern, and innovative world leader,”
said former US Ambassador to Morocco Edward M. Gabriel.

The US News & World Report findings echo the results of many other
industry indices over the years. Earlier this year, Morocco was again
named among the 50 most innovative economies in the world and one of
just two such economies in Africa by the 2017
Bloomberg Innovation Index. In September last year, the World Bank’s
2017 “Doing Business” report ranked
Morocco 68 out of 190 countries in ease of doing business, making it
number one in North Africa and fourth overall in the greater Middle
East/North Africa region. Meanwhile, Marrakesh, Morocco was named the
most popular travel destination in the world by TripAdvisor last year;
and the World Tourism Organization’s 2016 Tourism Highlights report cited
Morocco as the top tourist destination in Africa.

The Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) is a non-profit
organization whose principal mission is to inform opinion makers,
government officials, and interested publics in the United States about
political and social developments in Morocco and the role being played
by the Kingdom of Morocco in broader strategic developments in North
Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.

This material is distributed by the Moroccan American Center for
Policy on behalf of the Government of Morocco. Additional information is
available at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC.